New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver maintains that he believes that he'll be cleared of any wrongdoing in the Vito Lopez sex debacle, during which the speaker signed off on more than $100,000 in taxpayer funded hush money to sweep allegations of sexual misconduct against Lopez under the rug.

He also claims that he "acted in the best interests" of the several victims of Lopez's alleged pervy-ness -- which, New York GOPers say, is laughable.

Over the past six months, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has really taken it on the chin in the PR department. And rightly so -- it was recently revealed that he signed off on more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded hush money to help sweep allegations of sexual harassment against his former pal/alleged pervert Vito "Gropez" Lopez under the rug.

But covering up Assemblyman Gropez's multiple cases of alleged pervy-ness is just the latest in a long history of Silver's using his powerful position in New York State politics to help his pervy pals (ahem) get off.

In January, the Assembly will elect a new speaker -- and if history tells us anything, Silver will once again get elected speaker. But not if Assemblyman Steve Katz gets his way.

A recently formed GOP Super PAC has Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver in its sights and says it will actively campaign -- and drop an estimated $1.5 million -- to see to it that he's not re-elected as Assembly speaker.

The Super PAC -- which is being financially fueled by the group Americans for Real Change -- cites Silver's handling of Assemblyman Vito Lopez's pervy-ness as the reason for the push to oust him from his position.

Silver has a history of sweeping allegations of sexual misconduct in the Assembly under the rug -- his coverups have caused his foes to compare him to deceased Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

But the push to give him the boot probably will do precisely nothing -- at the end of the day, Shelly Silver's still Shelly Silver.

NOW-NYC President Sonia Ossorio urges JCOPE to get to the bottom of allegations of sexual misconduct against Assemblyman Vito Lopez -- and the Shelly Silver-driven coverup that followed.

Assemblyman Vito Lopez is a grade-A pervert. That much we know (for example, he would prefer you not wear a bra to work, ladies). But the lengths to which Assembly leaders -- most notably Lopez's former pal/current Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver -- went to coverup Lopez's multiple gropings of young, female staffers remains a mystery.

New York's Joint Commission On Public Ethics (JCOPE) is investigating multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by Lopez, and how those allegations were handled by legislative leaders. This morning, the National Organization for Women and Common Cause/NY explained what they expect of the Commission's investigation.

Embattled Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver has a "female" supporter who incessantly defends him against charges that he approved more than $100,000 in taxpayer money to coverup allegations of sexual misconduct made by multiple women against his old pal/current disgraced Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

The Silver apologist's name is Sophie Walker, and she vehemently defends the speaker's handling of all things women in the comment sections of blog posts and newspaper articles online, as well as on her website, goddesssophiewalker.com.

Problem is, Sophie's a dude -- and not only is Sophie a dude, she's a dude named Bill Eggler, who works in Silver's Albany office.

In other words, it seems a male Silver staffer is posing as a women online to give the impression that the powerful speaker has the support of women -- all as several former female Assembly staffers describe Silver's Assembly as an "old boys club," where harassing women is completely acceptable.

Granted, it's only a petition -- it will do literally nothing to procedurally remove Silver from office. And Shelly Silver's still Shelly Silver -- he's one politician in New York who could probably weather the storm if caught with the proverbial dead woman or live boy. But, as toothless as the GOP's petition may be, it sends a message that people are sick and tired of the speaker and his "old boys club" that is the New York State Assembly.

It turns out that Silver's kids are all voting in the powerful speaker's district, presumably for their old man. The only problem with that is none of them actually live there -- and haven't for quite some time.

One of his kids doesn't even live in New York, but has voted here six times while living out of state.

Two of Silver's kids -- Edward Silver, 43, and Michelle Trebitsch, 34 -- are registered to vote at the speaker's apartment at 550 Grand Street in Manhattan. Trebitsch, however, has lived in Brooklyn since 2000, and Edward Silver bought a home in Cedarhurst, Long Island in
July 2010.

Apparently realizing that "it's always about the coverup," the Joint Commission On Public Ethics (JCOPE) announced last night that it's widening its probe of the sexual harassment allegations made against shamed Assemblyman Vito Lopez to include the more than $100,000 in taxpayer money Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver approved to cover some of them up.

Previously, the commission said it would not be investigating the speaker, which drew criticism from members of Silver's own party.

Monica Arias Miranda claims she was sexually harassed while working as an Assembly staffer. She never reported the alleged harassment -- until now (that she's running for Senate)

A former New York Assembly staffer who now is running for the state Senate says the multiple sexual harassment allegations made against shamed Assemblyman Vito Lopez -- and the subsequent coverup by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver -- is just a "smokescreen and coverup for something much bigger."

Democratic Senate hopeful Monica Arias Miranda claims she was sexually harassed routinely by male co-workers when she worked as a budget analyst for the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. She says she never filed complaints about the abuse because she feared retaliation from the "good 'ol boy" culture in the Legislature.

Miranda, who faces two other Democrats in Thursday's primary, has called for an investigation into Silver -- a risky move for a Democrat, but one that is sure to set her apart from her opponents in her suburban Albany district.